
What was deemed as a black spot in the Friends of Frome Hospital’s community-wide defibrillator network, has now been rectified with the installation of a 25th publicly-available defibrillator (PAD) at the YMCA Youth and Community Centre at Vallis Way.
On commissioning the latest 24/7 available PAD, the Friends project leader, Derek Trick said, “We have really appreciated the co-operation from the YMCA team in allowing their building to act as the emergency focal point in that area of the town. Its location not only provides cover for the youth centre itself, but it’s easy access for the homes in the upper Whatcombe area and the housing estate on the former Wallington Weston site, as well as the industrial complex near to the YMCA premises.
“Again, it is a chance for the Friends of Frome Hospital to thank the community for their generosity which has allowed us to achieve this acclaimed initiative that has seen a density of 25 units strategically located across the town and our local villages. This is likely to be the last installation for the foreseeable future, but we hope we can rely on this continued support to allow us to fully maintain these units to cover our commitment to keep the units operational through to 2023 and beyond.”
The PAD units in the Frome Community Defibrillator Network are maintained by a team of dedicated volunteers to meet the obligation to the 999 emergency service, to check each cabinet once every two weeks to ensure that the defibrillator is always fully operational if the operator were to instruct someone to retrieve a defibrillator from their nearest PAD cabinet in the event of a cardiac trauma situation.